Called | Appointed
And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.
I hear a lot of leaders today who live for the “calling” on their lives. This is a good thing, a calling brings purpose and clarifies vision in a life changing way. But… it occurs to me that while “calling” is a great big blue sky to live life under, the reality of one’s “appointment” is likely the more important issue in the day to day of life. Let me explain.
I see that “calling” often serves as a distraction to what you as a leader have been appointed for. That word “calling” often seems to bring out the dreamer or whimsical side of a leader. The tendency to look too far beyond this moment – to become unpredictable for the team. You might like the idea of being a dreamer, but a dreamer that never acts is… well… still asleep.
The area of appointment, the one given to you by your Leader, your pastor, your boss, even your spouse is the reality of what you live in everyday. In what you are “appointed” to do, you will find authority, safety, and boundaries. There are probably a few more great words that bring life and security to you in there as well. If you want to know the best part, pay attention to this; if you learn to do appointment well, you will find the very best reward of leadership… AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIP. For the times in your journey where the appointment seems too hard, too boring or even beneath you; remember that it’s an appointed time, a season. You won’t stay in this spot forever so build what matters in the time that you have.
On our teams, we recognize a specific “metron” of grace for every leader’s area of appointment. A metron is a defined measure or area of something. The metron comes by way of an appointment. In this, you can be certain that you have the covering of leadership to act with authority. You can be confident that God’s grace is on you to lead with power and spiritual wisdom.
The Greek word for appointment is “tithémi”. (Strongs 5807 if you’d like to check it out for yourself.) And like so many times, I have to laugh when I look into the original language. The same word for appointed, as in “to a leadership position”, is used for “laid” in a tomb. Hopefully you can laugh too!
Let me boil it down to a simple statement. Jesus “calls” all of us, and He appoints those who will do what He says.
So, go ahead, be called to great and amazing things, live for the call of God on your life. But remember, the way you will achieve the goals of your calling is to live in the appointment. Because that is the reality of today.
~ Pastor Trav
